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TCSC < Thompson Cancer Survival Center at Methodist
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High Dose Rate Brachytherapy
Thompson Cancer Survival Center at Methodist
- Greater patient comfort
- Shorter recovery time
- Reduced side effects
What is high dose rate brachytherapy?
Traditional X-ray treatments and high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy are two types of radiation treatment. They are similar in that they both use radiation to treat cancerous growths. However, they differ in the type of radiation used and in the method of administering the radiation to the tumor.
X-ray treatments direct radiation into the tumor from outside the body. A device called a linear accelerator generates X-rays that have enough energy to penetrate and treat cancer deep inside a person's body.
HDR brachytherapy is possible when medical personnel can directly access a tumor and place a catheter in contact with it. The source of radiation is a very small pellet of radioactive material called an isotope. This pellet continually produces radiation as it undergoes radioactive decay.
What should a person undergoing HDR brachytherapy expect?
A team that includes physicians, therapists, a physicist, and a dosimetrist plans each patient's treatment on an individual basis. However, people undergoing HDR brachytherapy for lung airway cancer may generally expect the following:
- Outpatient care: Patients undergo treatment on an outpatient basis while family or friends wait in the cancer center reception area.
- Medications: Patients receive the same medications they would receive for a bronchoscopy, and they generally require the same recovery time for the sedating effects to diminish.
- Preparation: For lung treatments, a pulmonary physician performs a bronchoscopy to visually localize the tumor in the lung airways. The physician or other medical professional marks the position and places a thin hollow tube applicator, called a catheter, alongside and/or through the visible cancer. After removing the bronchoscope, a radiation therapist takes X-rays to record the applicator's location. Patients with cancers in other areas should expect to undergo a similar procedure.
- Radiation Dosage: A radiation oncologist prescribes the radiation dose for each treatment, and a physicist and a dosimetrist use computers to determine the details of each treatment and deliver the radiation dose accurately and safely.
- Treatment: After dosage calculations are complete, medical personnel move the patient by stretcher to the treatment room, where the HDR brachytherapy device is attached to the applicator. From outside the room, the treatment team monitors the patient via closed-circuit television with audio contact. As the patient rests quietly, the computer-controlled radioactive pellet moves to the calculated positions. After a few minutes, the pellet is withdrawn and placed in a shielded storage unit.
- Recovery: Medical personnel disconnect the device and remove the applicator. The patient remains in a resting position until the sedative medication wears off and then goes home with no special radiation precautions required.
While the actual HDR brachytherapy treatment time is only a few minutes, patients should allow up to four hours for preparation, treatment and recovery. The number and timing of treatments vary according to each patient's situation, but most people typically receive three to five treatments every seven to fourteen days. Some patients receive HDR brachytherapy in addition to chemotherapy, external X-ray radiation, and/or surgery.
Patients interested in receiving an evaluation for HDR brachytherapy should ask their physician to call Thompson Cancer Survival Center at Methodist at (865) 835-4500.
What are the advantages of HDR brachytherapy?
- More radiation to the cancer: Patients receive a higher dose of radiation, which has a greater effect on the cancer.
- Reduced side effects: Patients experience reduced side effects because of less radiation exposure to normal tissue.
- Shorter actual treatment time: HDR brachytherapy takes only a few minutes, although the entire procedure, including preparation and recovery, may take up to four hours. In comparison, the older form of treatment, low dose rate brachytherapy, required a one-to-three day stay in a hospital to accomplish the same results.
- Greater accuracy: The radiation source is a very short distance from the tumor, which increases the precision.
- Shorter recovery time: Patients undergoing HDR brachytherapy in the lung airway, for example, recover in about the same time they would recover from a typical bronchoscopy procedure.
- Less likelihood of pneumonia: HDR brachytherapy often prevents airway obstruction from a tumor growing in the lung airway. This reduces the likelihood that the patient will develop pneumonia.
- Greater patient comfort: Faster treatment means that catheters are removed sooner.
- Increased safety: Unlike low dose brachytherapy, this treatment results in absolutely no radiation exposure to the patient's family.
Thompson Cancer Survival Center at Methodist
102 Vermont Avenue
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
(865) 835-4500
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